We’ll begin your introduction to OCGJ with a quote by St. Augustine:
“Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.”
This by and large sums up our motivation to establish OCGJ as a platform to expose corruption in governments from Beavercreek Ohio to Washington DC. We’ve been at it for nearly 20 years and regardless of the party in power, the status quo has not budged in Ohio’s state capitol or Washington, let alone in Greene County. These governments are just as corrupt now as they were well before I left the active duty Air Force in 1992. And strangely enough, my Air Force background and subsequent employment as a defense contractor at the same time gave me the knowledge, experience and visibility to root out fraud, waste, abuse and corruption, but also strengthened the resolve of the political class to categorically ignore our allegations. Actually “ignore” is an understatement; “bury” would be much closer to reality. There’s a simple explanation why corrupt politicians and unelected bureaucrats refuse to engage whistleblowers out in the open. It’s a matter of survival…..if the truth, due process and the rule of law prevail; the self-interested political class lose and lose big.
Gandhi once said of non-violent dissent against tyrants,
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.”
In the coming months OCGJ will present “smoking gun” evidence that has been stonewalled at least since June, 2009 when the FBI invited me to be an unpaid “cooperating witness” to investigate the 2003 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Initiative Agreement, a contract that sent $1.9 million in public money to the Dayton Development Coalition from Greene County and Ohio taxpayers. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my FBI contacts for nearly fourteen months. They were polite and professional, almost to a fault, but my concern is they didn’t make a strong enough case with the U.S. Attorney when they reported overwhelming evidence of corruption against self-interested public officials and their cronies in the private sector. In any case, some may say that even though the evidence supporting my allegations is too compelling to ignore, suggesting the FBI or U.S. Attorney may be complicit in a government cover-up can be dangerous. Although that can indeed be a risk, OCGJ has built-in safeguards to mitigate that risk. First and foremost, we are protected by the First Amendment that reads, “Congress shall make no law…..abridging the freedom…..to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Stonewalling legitimate grievances is just as corrupt as passing laws to deny freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Moreover, Congress has passed laws to protect whistleblowers, although enforcement often falls by the wayside. Finally for those of us who have served in the military or as cleared employees supporting the Department of Defense, it is our duty to uphold our oath of office and report fraud, waste, abuse and corruption where we see it. That is why they have not attacked, and that is why it’s time to take the fight to the next level. Join me and others as part of the Ohio Citizens Grand Jury. The courts, law enforcement and unelected bureaucrats have buried an arsenal of smoking guns to conceal the truth, but now it’s our turn. With your help Ohio Citizens Grand Jury can be a powerful force in returning government to the people. Come on in; the water’s fine, not to mention safe to drink…..and why wouldn’t it be as it refreshes and sustains the tree of liberty?
John Mitchel, Founder, Ohio Citizens Grand Jury (Established January 1, 2014)
Note: Ohio Citizens Grand Jury and Patriot Press Ohio are subsidiaries of John Mitchel Analytics, LLC, a small, veteran-owned limited liability company.
